SHOCKING: Disturbances, tear gas and rubber bullets in Boca Juniors game
Argentine football wrote another dark episode on thursday night as a clash with a clash with the police nearly ended in a tragedy
Argentine football wrote another of its darkest chapters. The match between Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata and Boca Juniors, a massive game in the race for the title, had to be suspended minutes after starting due to incidents between the police and Gimnasia fans. The police officers used tear gas to stop the disturbances outside and it ended up invading the pitch and affecting several players and fans.
Video edited on Kapwing
The incidents began in the surroundings of the Estadio Juan Carmelo Zerillo. The stands were completely full and several fans who weren't allowed to enter the ground, several of them with tickets, began to cause disturbances in the streets surrounding the stadium.
The police sought to repress the supporters and started a strong confrontation that ended in the worst way. The tear gas used by the police filled the playing field and the stands, affecting the players and fans alike, who showed great difficulty breathing.
As the situation worsened, the fans invaded the grass and shouted to leave the stadium. The footballers, most of them very affected, had to seek refuge in the dressing rooms. Some Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata players chose to stay on the field, as they had relatives in the audience who were in the area most affected by the gases.
The players couldn't breathe
Outside, the situation worsened and the police started firing rubber bullets, resulting in many wounded, incluiding a reporter for Argentine sports network TyC Sports. The worst news would be later confirmed, with the death of a Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata fan allegedly due to a heart attack, although the family of the victim insists he had no prior conditions and was instead attacked by the police.
Former Boca Juniors and current Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata player Franco Soldano was very clear on the matter: "It is difficult to speak. People complain that the players are leaving for the economic reasons, but it is much more than that. There are much more important things. I had my wife nine months pregnant in the stands. Today my sister was coming for the first time with her four-month-old girl. Football doesn't matter, it's about your life and your family".
"I ran clashing with the people who were desperate, looking for my family, so many things go through your mind. Sports is left behind and it is a very sad night. People ran through the changing rooms. It got very dangerous, it was a party and it ended up being an embarrassment. It was a very hard moment, I am shocked, only now I found my family and it is very difficult to be able to rest", added Soldano.
The Gimansia fans had to invade the pitch to evade the tear gas
Finally, the Argentine Professional Football League confirmed on its official twitter account that the referee of the match, Hernán Mastrángelo, suspended Gimnasia-Boca due to lack of guarantees that would allow it to continue. A night that could've ended in one of the biggest tragedies in Argentine football.
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